


Up In Flames

by valentines



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, September 11 Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-15
Updated: 2013-04-15
Packaged: 2017-12-08 14:10:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/762225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valentines/pseuds/valentines
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's early 2000's and One Direction have moved to New York. Just as Louis and Harry realise their feeling for each other, they're ripped apart by traumatic real-life events.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Up In Flames

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Coldplay's song of the same name.  
> I've had this uploaded on tumblr for a lonngggg time but I knew it needed tweaks before I posted it here. That's been done, so I hope you enjoy (enjoy? Maybe not the right word) the new and improved version xxxx
> 
> tw: 9/11

Harry stepped into the cool cafe, embracing the air conditioning, a nice contrast from the unseasonal heat outside. It was early morning and the room was empty, apart from one boy with his back turned to the front door, and a familiar waitress putting sandwiches in the display fridge.

“Hi Donna.” Harry called out, waving at her and flashing a smile at the pretty young girl. She looked up, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear and waved back. Harry slid into the booth, watched closely by his friend.

“Good morning.” Liam said, eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You seem happy.” He turned to Donna, raising his hand to catch her attention.

“Can I get some waffles, love?” He asked. She stood up straight with a sandwich in her hand and an unimpressed expression.

“Look, you may be a pop star, but you’re not getting anything until I stock up. Why are you fellas in so early, speaking of?”  Her American accent was thick, and Harry couldn’t help but laugh. Even after seven months of living in New York, he wasn’t used to the way they talked.

“Simon wants us down at headquarters at 9. We were all going to catch a bite to eat beforehand but the others are all too lazy. So it’s just us.” Liam explained, leaning back in the plush seat and going quiet as a few businessman walked in for their morning coffee. Donna became preoccupied with serving them, so Liam turned back to Harry.

They’d had weekly ventures to this cafe whenever they weren’t travelling. Since One Direction had moved to America, Liam and Harry had become closer, and they confided everything in each other.

“I, uh. I told Louis how I feel about him last night.” Harry said quietly, biting his bottom lip and blushing, daring a look at Liam. He was silent for a moment, his fingers playing with the edge of his lips and his eyes focused him. Before Harry could start to worry, Liam let out a sigh and gave him a smile.

“About time, mate! How did it go?” Liam asked, genuine happiness lighting up his features. Harry had fawned over Louis for so long, Liam was surprised that Lou hadn’t picked up on it himself.

“Good. Really good.” Harry cleared his throat and tapped his nails on the counter.

“He... Stayed over.” Harry gave a grin, raising his eyebrows.

Liam nodded, slipping his hand through his mug’s handle and bringing the coffee to his mouth. Harry gave their surroundings a quick search, noticing the men had left and Donna was writing out their usual order to give to the chef.

“We _fuc_ -”

“Great, Harry!” Liam interrupted, clenching his teeth together in an uncomfortable smile, much to Harry’s amusement.

**Ten Hours Earlier**

_“Think my names funny do you? No need to ask for yours. Red hair, and a hand-me-down robe... You must be a Weasley.”_

_Louis pulled the too-small blanket further up his chest after reaching out for another chip. “He’s a right dick isn’t he?” He said, glancing at Harry before putting the chip in his mouth._

_Harry smirked, scanning the back of the VCR cover, reading the synopsis of the movie they were watching. “Harry Potter. This was a book eh? Got really big just before we moved over here.”_

_Louis nodded, giving up on reaching forward for the chips, instead pulling the whole bag onto his lap. Harry didn’t notice, let alone mind. There was a sick feeling in his stomach. Tonight was the night he was going to make himself tell Louis. Tell him that he was in love with him. And that all Harry wanted was his thick arms and long fingers to hold him, even if he was smaller than him. And that every time he kissed a fan on the cheek his stomach clenched in jealousy. That all the jokes they had made about being together were the one thing Harry wanted. But he was sure Louis didn’t feel the same way. He just couldn’t hold it in anymore, and he felt that Louis deserved to know the truth._

_“You’re quiet.” Louis said from the other end of the small couch, lightly kicking Harry in the leg to pull him from his daze. “Bit boring.”_

_Their eyes met for a second, before Harry turned his attention back to the television. “Just tired.” He muttered._

_Louis kicked him again.  “Oh, right, yes. Like I’m going to believe that.” There was a silent moment, where Harry tried to get those three little words out of his mouth. “Tell me what’s wrong.” Louis interrupted, giving a smile that reached right up to his eyes, before jumping up and tackling Harry off the couch onto the ground. The chips flew everywhere._

_“Tell me, Harry!” He teased, pinning him down and trying to tickle him. The blanket was between them, but they were only inches apart. Harry laughed, looking up into his eyes as they both wriggled around._

_“For fuck’s sake, what’s wrong?” Louis asked, becoming still, his deceivingly strong arms holding himself up over Harry. The younger boy looked up into the ice blue eyes above him. They stayed in this position, surrounded by a pregnant silence, before Harry reached up and put his hands on the back of Louis’ neck, pulling him down hard, pressing his lips against his. They were warm and soft, just like he’d had always imagined._

_Harry was surrounded by Louis’ musky smell; he was of course used to it, but the hormones running around his body, mixed with their proximity, sent the scent straight to his head. Their kiss turned hungry, and Harry realised that he wasn’t the only one moving his lips, that Louis was kissing him back. Louis pushed his chest down onto Harry’s, pinning him down, and Harry gasped, accidentally nipping Louis’ bottom lip._

_The pair broke apart after a few seconds, and they just watched each other. Louis could feel Harry’s heart beating as fast as a hummingbird’s._

_Finally. They had kissed. Louis had wanted to kiss Harry for so long but had never found the perfect chance._

_Louis smirked at him, moving onto his side, one leg still draped over Harry. He reached forward and placed his hand on Harry’s chest, covered by a thin cotton shirt with a v neck; his favourite piece of clothing on him. The way it seemed a little too small and the material was tight against his torso and he could just see his swallow wings peeking out always made Louis restrain himself from ripping it off altogether._

_“Uh,” Harry started, his eyebrows furrowing and his front teeth holding his dark pink bottom lip. “I like you, Louis.. A lot.” Harry admitted timidly, his voice a lot quieter than he had meant it to be. He didn’t want Louis to think he was nervous or unconfident; he was the opposite, feeling comfortable whilst lying on the carpet with Louis’ hand on his chest. It felt right. He felt like he shouldn’t have waited for so long to confess._

_“I know that, babe.” Louis laughed, moving his hand to Harry’s hair and brushing a stray curl out of his eyes, then moving back down to his shirt. The dull heat from Harry’s chest made Louis a bit dizzy._

_“You know?” Harry asked, frowning against as he tried to think of a time he might have given his feelings away. There were none he could think of; he’d always kept it a secret, always buried it down, not only to make sure no one found out but to keep the truth from himself._

_“Well, you just kissed me and all. And I kissed you back, I hope you noticed.” Louis explained, a broad smile still on his face. Before Harry could reply, he clenched his hand on Harry’s shirt and pulled him closer. Their mouths met again, and their kiss was rough, wet and passionate, not tame._

_Harry leaned on Louis and their open lips moved together like their lives depended on it, like they’d been stuck in the desert for days and the other was their water. Louis’ hand slid up Harry’s back, his shirt catching on his fingers and the skin becoming exposed. But he moved further, combing his hand through the dark brown locks, pulling Harry down against him so he was stuck against the curve of his body._

_Louis broke away from Harry’s mouth, moving his lips to his neck and not bothering to be gentle when pressing on his skin. A thin sheen of sweat had budded on Louis’ back, still pressed against the ground, and there was a familiar tingling sensation starting beneath his belt. Harry moved a hand to the hem of Louis’ shirt, trying to decide whether or not he’d be game to go further. But, he realised, he was nuzzling at the sensitive skin of his neck at that very moment. And he’d be fine to just make out if Louis didn’t want to take his clothes off. They were already further than Harry had expected; he was sure that he’d be kicked out or ignored after he told Louis that he loved him._

_Pushing their hips together, Harry leaned up and slid Louis’s shirt off. There were no refusals. Harry then removed his own and the two boys stopped for a moment._

_“Have you been working out?” Louis commented, slightly out of breath, and his hair already poking out in all directions. Harry moved his attention to his own toned body and laughed._

_“A bit. Have to release the frustration somehow.” The words left his mouth before he thought them over. Harry’s cheeks turned crimson and he closed his eyes, biting him bottom lip and hoping his implications weren’t picked up on._

_“Frustration...” Louis echoed, laughing as he did. “I sure can think of a better way to release it, you know.”_

_Harry opened his eyes again, moving his focus to Louis. They both had small smiles on their faces. Louis raised his eyebrows for a second, his fingers tickling Harry's thighs, still hidden by his jeans. Without wasting another second, their lips met again and the night was theirs._

_~_

Liam pushed his plate into the centre of the table and pat his stomach. “I’m full.” He said, smiling at Harry, who also pushed his finished breakfast away from him. They both looked up at the clock on the other side of the cafe.

“Only 8... Bit early. Should we wait?” Harry asked. Liam shook his head, grabbing his wallet and sliding out of the booth to pay.They then left, hailing a cab to get them through the traffic to where they’d meet the boys and a few of their managers at their headquarters.

 

Niall was running late. He couldn’t get hold of Louis, and Zayn wasn’t even half ready when Niall had been ready to leave, so he’d left him behind. Technically he wasn’t late, they weren’t expected till 9, but it was 8:30 already and Simon always wanted them there early. No doubt Liam and Harry would be there already.

But, he was almost there, the building was in sight. As long as no fans stopped him for photos, all should be fine. It would just be Zayn and Louis’ ass on the line.

Niall wasn't running, just pacing, so he couldn’t miss the giant shadow when it rolled past him. It darkened the ground around him, turned the day to night for a split second. He looked up, trying to see what had caused it, and not sure what he was expecting. Niall saw what looked like a plane fly nose-first into the tower, and he had a tiny fraction of time before he was met by a huge explosion. The heat hit him first, like a train, and he was blinded by the fiery blaze. The sky turned vermillion. The ground underneath him shook. He thought it was about to rip open, swallow him up.

The noise too was horrendous, and the shock of the blast made Niall topple fall to his feet. He covered his head with his arms as pieces of plaster and cement came falling down from the sky. It had been so blue seconds ago. He could hear screams, not all his own, crying, praying. The shaking and the noise stopped for a moment. He could smell something burning, and his arms and head stung.

Niall's breathing was laboured, every inch of his body shivering, but slowly opened his eyes, wary of the surroundings. There was a woman close to him whose leg was covered in blood and he could see the flesh of her muscle. Most people were running away from the building, others were staring up in awe. Niall followed their gaze.

A deep hole had been carved into the side of the tower above him. There was fire spreading and smoke was billowing out of it like a chimney. Niall stared in disbelief, as did the people around him. There were huge chunks of cement and metal speared into the ground around him, far too close for comfort. He thought he saw a hand poking out from under one.

“Was it a bomb?”

“No, something went into it!”

“ _Into_ it?”

“I think it was a rocket or something!”

Niall listened to those around him, frowning at their theories. He'd seen it; it definitely wasn't a rocket, it was just a plane. But why would someone fly a plane straight into the World Trade Centre? That couldn’t have been what happened, no one could fuck up that badly.

A warm tickle suddenly ran down the back of his neck and his hand reached up to it, meeting his saturated collar. His fingertips were soon covered in blood, and his heart started to race, his breathing becoming shallow. He hated the sight of blood.

He wasn’t the only one there injured though, so he was going to have to toughen up. He removed his cardigan and pressed it to the wound on the back of his head, pushing away the woozy feeling that was starting to take over him. _Don’t faint._ He told himself,clenching his teeth and fighting through the blurriness.

Niall dared to look up again. The fires were spreading and the gauged building looked like something out of a horror movie. If he had been on time, he would have been in there, in the North Tower. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he realised that Liam and Harry had been there already.

He couldn’t reach for his phone fast enough.

~

Piercing alarms and the overwhelming stench of smoke woke Harry up. His vision was messy when he first opened his eyes and his arm couldn’t support him when he tried to lean on it. He had a headache that was thumping a tattoo on the side of his skull. The room around him now felt like a dark, hot, death trap. What felt like only a second ago, it had been Simon’s pristine, modern office. The glass desk was shattered and spread around the floor, the lights were blown and smoke was twirling in dense patterns above him. Harry stood up slowly on shaking legs, his head surprisingly clear, only his arm hurting. With closer inspection, he saw a deep gash along his tricep. _My tattoos are fucked_ , he thought. But he’d deal with that later.

As his eyes adjusted to the dimness, Harry saw a dark figure collapsed on the floor a few metres away from him. He walked over to it, scared of what it could possibly be. Something that was going to make him break down for sure.

“Liam?” Harry said quietly, far too quiet to be heard. “Liam!” He tried again, his voice hoarse but loud. Then he was on his knees, rolling his friend onto his back and trying to shake him awake when there was no response to his name. He wasn’t lying in a pool of his own blood, so that was a good thing at least.

After a few more shakes and yells, Liam coughed and his eyes shot open, looking like a deer in the headlights. He sat up quickly, wincing in pain as he did. His face showed a million different expressions as he took in their surroundings.

“Harry! Harry, what happened? Are you okay? Oh jeez, my chest hurts so bad.” Liam said, panicking and trying to stand, but failing as he succumbed to the obvious pain.

“I have no idea what happened. Everything was fine and then I blacked out and woke up and now everything is shit and on fire and I thought you were dead and Simon-” Harry stopped, forgetting Liam for a second and scanning the room once more. Yes, there was another dark figure on the window side of the office.

Harry stood and approached cautiously, stepping through the glass. “Simon?” He said, inching closer. Soon he stood over him. There was a huge gash across his forehead and he, Harry was pained to see, _was_ lying in a pool of his own blood. His eyes were closed and a trail of blood was also dripping from his mouth. Harry’s lips pressed into a thin line as he held back scared and upset tears.

“He’s dead.” He told Liam, who he heard take a sharp intake of breath. Harry leaned down, removing his jacket, and placed it over Simon’s head.

Before any conversation could even be attempted, a shrill sound started to play. Liam moved his hand into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, holding it up to his ear.

“Hello?” He said, a smile breaking out on his face after a few seconds. Harry stayed still as he watched him.

“Niall!”

“You’re here?”

“Oh. Are you okay? Did you see it?”

“A plane?”

Liam pulled away from the phone for a second and turned to Harry.

“Niall’s down on the ground, he says a plane flew into the building!”

This couldn’t be happening... This was something that happened in dreams, not in New York City. But evidence surrounding him said different. Things had just become so horrid, when last night had been such bliss.

Last night. Louis. Had Louis arrived here before the building had been hit? Was he alright? Harry had left him in bed this morning, rushing off to breakfast with Liam. Louis has told him he’d meet him later at the meeting. So he must have been here. Harry imagined him further down the tower, with a gash across his forehead and blood trailing from his lips as well, the lips he’d kissed for hours last night.

Liam ended the phone call and took a deep breath. He’d reassured Niall that everything would be okay. Niall had only believed him because huge groups of firemen had run past him and into the building, on their way to try and save them and thousands of others. Liam felt calmed at that information, feeling considerably safer knowing that help was on the way. Niall was to ring Zayn and find out where he was, and let him know what had happened if like usual he was out of the loop.

“Do you want to call Louis?” Liam asked a distracted Harry. He looked up from the ground, processing Liam’s words.

“Yeah.” He murmured, letting him put in the number then taking the phone from him. The dial tone sounded and then it started to ring.

And ring, and ring.

And end.

 _Try again._ Harry told himself, clenching his hand into a fist to stop it shaking.

It rung, and rung. And finally someone picked up.

“Liam! Sorry mate I was in the shower.”

His voice had never sounded better than right at this moment. Not when Harry had first heard him sing, neither this morning when he’d whispered his name and kissed him. But right now, knowing he was alive, and far away from there.

“It’s Harry. You’re at home?” He mumbled, relief rushing over him like a wave.

“Yeah. Oh shit, I’m late. Is Simon angry?” Louis asked, sounding as carefree as ever. He didn’t know what had happened.

“Lou, turn on the television.”

There were no questions from the other end of the line. There must have been panic in his voice. Harry heard a rustle, and then the familiar sound of the morning news presenter. That was all there was for a minute, until Louis let out the breath he’d been holding.

“Are you okay?” He murmured.

“Yeah. Liam’s here. There’s a lot of smoke. Simon... Simon’s dead.” Harry said, hoping his voice was loud enough for Louis to hear.

There was suddenly another shake, making Harry and Liam rush to each other in panic, instinctively moving away from the remaining objects on the wall. Harry heard Louis scream, "Jesus fucking Christ!"

“Harry the other tower just got hit! There are two planes! Get out of there Harry, get out now!”

~

Liam looked at the people around him, trying to get down the narrow stairs. There were men, women, tall and short, big and small, black and white, but they all had a shared goal; get out of the tower. Things were going slowly though, and he and Harry had only gotten down a few flights of stairs in over half an hour.

Harry still had the phone pressed to his ear, and people were eyeing him with jealousy, obviously not able to get through to their own families and envious that he had made outside contact.

“Are you still okay?” Louis asked, pacing back and forth in his room. He avoided looking at the messy bed, which now held amazing memories, and he didn’t want to contaminate them with the unknown of this situation.

“Yes Lou.” Harry said, forcing himself to actually sound alright. The truth was, he was scared.

Louis stopped pacing, instead moving into the kitchen and turning on the kettle. Yorkshire Tea was a necessity at the moment.

“Are you making tea?” Harry asked, a small laugh escaping his lips, not sounding right in the tense air around him. He’d heard the click of the kettle.

“Yeah. Don’t judge me.” Louis said, moving through and turning on the television in the living room, which was visible from the kitchen. He couldn’t take his eyes off the towers.

“I wouldn't. I love you too much, Louis.”

Harry stopped in the stairwell, and the person behind him walked straight into him and then swore. But he didn’t hear. He’d just said he loved Louis. He hadn’t meant to say it. With Lou, he didn’t seem to have control over what came out of his mouth.

Liam turned around, not sure he had heard Harry correctly. But his expression proved that he had said what Liam thought he had. He smiled widely, fighting a laugh at the touching moment’s vast contrast from the circumstance they were in. He grabbed Harry’s hand, since he was frozen, and made him keep walking down the stairs.

Louis continued to make his tea as the kettle boiled, adding a sugar in with the bag. The phone was held up to his ear by his shoulder, and a smitten grin brightened his face.

“I love you too Harry.” He said confidently, no doubt in his words. They were true, and way overdue. He heard a giggle on the other end of the line.

The phone cut to dial tone. Louis frowned, looking at the screen, which said the call had ended. Had he not said the right thing? Maybe Harry had been so overcome with emotion that he had to hang up. Or maybe their luck in being able to actually connect the call had run out.

The building started to sway again, making everyone in the stairwell pause. Liam and Harry were stuck on a platform, next to an exit to Level 73 if the sign above their heads was accurate.

"This way isn't fast enough." Liam muttered, grabbing Harry's trembling hand and pulling him through the door.

The offices on Level 73 were deserted, sans the people who hadn't been so lucky in the initial impact. Harry whimpered. Liam was still holding his hand, to try and hurry him up whilst he tried to find another exit. The pair turned a corner, and both stopped without prompt. They were awestruck by the sight in front of them. Harry and Liam had reached the edge, with the South Tower burning in front of them. Harry could make out faces as petrified as his own, trapped in identical rooms only 90 feet away. Some of the faces were alive, some were not. It was too much.

He was just about to turn away when he saw a man in a ripped, blue shirt jump from a broken window opposite them. They were close enough to see the fear covering his face, as well as the blood. They didn't hear the thud as he hit the ground far below them.

Liam grabbed Harry by the shoulders and pulled him close, putting his arms around him and making him rest his head by his neck. "Don't watch." He whispered, feeling hot tears hit his tshirt. Harry thought he was going to shout, to cry, to fall to the floor and have no will to get back up, but he just stood in Liam's arms, emotionless.

Harry didn't watch as the South Tower collapsed level upon level on itself, changing the skyline in 10 seconds, reducing to a huge pile of rubble and bodies on the ground. He heard and felt it, he knew what was happening, but he couldn't watch. He felt Liam's sharp intake of breath, but he didn't move.

"That tower got hit after us." Harry pointed out, finally breaking away from Liam's comforting grasp. He just nodded in recognition, thinking along the exact same wave length as Harry. Their eyes met, both wet.

"We aren't going to make it out of here, Harry." Liam whispered, the lump in his throat from holding back the fountain of tears almost visible. Harry sighed, surprisingly okay with it. He guessed he'd known since Louis had said the other tower had been hit.

"Yeah." Was all he said, walking back over to the window, ignoring the billow of smoke where a building had just been. If he squinted enough, the smoke and the tower kind of looked the same.

"I don't want to be crushed." Harry said frankly, leaning on the glass of the huge window, which had once been loved for its view of New York. Liam joined him, splaying out his fingers and pushing on the glass.

"I don't either." He agreed, closing his eyes and resting his forehead on the window as well.

They met eyes again, and Harry reached up to grab Liam's hand.

"Jump?"

Liam squeezed Harry's hand, nodding slowly in a final sort of way.

"Okay. You grab something heavy to break the glass. Give me a sec, I gotta do something." Harry said, feeling authoritive, adrenalin and guilt and love running through his veins.

He sauntered to the nearest desk, smiling sadly at the photo of a mother and daughter in broken frame next to the computer. Grabbing a pen and a stray bank statement, he scribbled down a few last words to Louis.

_Lou. I can't show how much I love you on a piece of paper. We've been robbed of our time together and I'm so, so sorry. Tell the fans I love them, tell mum and gemma I love them, tell zayn and niall too. I know you probably hate me for jumping but i really had no choice, I'm sorry. Do you remember when we first moved over here and i helped you choose your flat, and we were in that weird penthouse down on 52nd and there was that quote on the fridge, "Gather the rose of love whilst yet is time." I guess we just didn't have time, but you sure are my rose. I love you._

_Please keep singing. Nothing is more beautiful than your voice._

_Love, Harry xx_

"Harry." Liam pressed gently from the window, the fire extinguisher that had just been in his hands no longer there, and the sound of smashing glass fresh on their ears. Harry folded the paper, tucking it in his jean pocket since his jacket was upstairs, hoping it'd one day find Louis.

"Love you, Li." Harry whispered, kissing his friend on the cheek where a salty tear had escaped. Liam gave a small smile, clutching his hand as they stood on the edge of the building. "I love you too, Harry. "

 

Without looking down, they jumped.

**Author's Note:**

> Quote in Harry's letter is by Edmund Spencer.


End file.
